Domains: To Buy or Not To Buy

I’ve seen quite a few bloggers querying on Twitter as to whether or not they should look into purchasing their own domain for their blog. Likewise, I’ve also recently started to see a number of people highlighting their cancellation of any previously-purchased domains, reverting back to the default web address issued by the host website. This month marks a year since I purchased my own domain, and so I figured I’d write a little reflection on what I’ve found since doing so.

I’ve received more invitations for sponsored posts etc.

I mean, we’re not talking much here. Not enough to the point where I could even say the blog is a means of income. But since purchasing my own domain, I’ve started receiving the odd email from companies and agencies acting on behalf of companies asking if I’d be interested in writing posts or working with them. Granted, some of them have been a little questionable (like those pesky “pay for postage” deals!), but this year I’ve started getting my first few sponsored posts and gifting for social media. I never set out to be working with brands when I first set up the blog in November 2016, – in fact, I didn’t actually expect anyone to even read it. I’d set out to use it as a way to write content in hopes of using it as examples of work while applying for journalism-related things. So, it’s a nice little added bonus for now at least!

Quite a few collaboration/paid opportunities request that you’ve got your own domain in order to take part, but there are people with default web addresses who seem to sometimes get offers too… so it’s definitely something to consider!

Your web address is a little bit more memorable!

Especially important if you’re looking to up your site traffic. Having a long web address isn’t the end of the world, but it can end up being the case that your audience struggle to remember exactly what to key in when looking for it. Of course, it’s 2018 and search engines kind of help with that issue nowadays… But still. What’s more, you can buy multiple related domains and link them to your website, just to double-ty increase the likelihood of getting more traffic!

They’re cheap!

WELL. If you’ve been following my blog posts for a while, you’ll know that this isn’t strictly a benefit that I myself have experienced… but y’know, I’ve heard it from other people. Domain name-specific websites have loads of decent prices on addresses, so make sure to shop around if you decide to purchase, as they are out there! Don’t do what I did and pay an additional £30 by buying it straight through the likes of WordPress!

I’ve been able to build more of an identity

Maybe this is just something that pleases me, but I like making sure all of my usernames match up. This was something I wanted from day 1; back in the days when my blog was “hannxo”, my Twitter was something silly like “hannnnxo” (basically a product of just adding another “n” until the username wasn’t taken) and so on. That infuriated me to no end. It wasn’t even because I wanted to build an identity at the time, as that was back in the aforementioned early days. It just really wound me up not having everything match. I did have my blog as whathannahwrote.wordpress.com for a little while before purchasing my domain, but even that wound me up as it wasn’t as “snappy” as I wanted, and I felt like it didn’t really match the @whathannahwrote usernames I’d adopted on social media. Being able to issue out all of my contact details under the one, straightforward banner makes me feel both slightly more professional and less, LESS irritated.

So, all-in-all, I definitely feel like I’ve benefitted from having purchased my own domain name! Has anyone else had any similar experiences? Or maybe you’ve found the opposite and you regret purchasing one! Let me know in the comments!

I love that you mention branding, I think that’s so important. I started out on one domain but then switched to my current one and it’s made life so much easier because all my social media channels are the same handle now (@lisasnotebook)! This is a really helpful post for anyone wondering what to do, thank you for laying things out so clearly! x

I purchased my domain about a year ago too. I think it was the best thing I’ve done for my blog. Like you, I’ve had so many more requests since making the change. I was surprised at how cheap it was too!

Hi Hannah! Yea I thought about purchasing my domain but I think I’ll do it once I am a consistent with my blogging and have a steady flow of income to keep up with the monthly fees. Plus I hope to purchase a website layout/theme from pipdig one day too. I agree with you, it’s nice when all handles match on social media 💙

I’ve had my blog since 2014, but never even considered going sell hosted since I was just in high school, but now I really wish I had to see how that would have elevated my blog. I have been looking into going self hosted, these tips are so helpful, thank you.

I think buying your own domain is definitely worth the investment! It makes my blog so much more professional and memorable like you say! It took me around 9 months before I decided to take the plunge but I’m so glad I did!
PaleGirlRambling xohttp://palegirlrambling.co.uk

I agree about social media handles being different! Twitter don’t let you have one long enough for my blog name so it’s different on there and it annoys me so much! I’d love to be able to buy my own domain but then don’t you have to be self-hosted and buy themes etc? It all seems expensive and I just can’t afford it right now 🙁

This is a really useful post Hannah and I hope it encourages more people to get their own domain name. It’s so quick, easy and affordable. Plus it really makes blogs look more professional without having to really do much! Thank you for sharing 💖 xx

This is such a nice post. I’m seriously thinking about buying a domain. I’m blogging for almost 7 years but honestly I never decided to buy one because I thought my blog didn’t have much views. But now I think that my blog will much more professional.
Unfortunately the domain with the name of my blog .com is premium and it’s really expensive 🙁 so I’m evaluating my other options.Blog – Maria Rita
> Follow my blog in Bloglovin

I always encourage people to buy a domain – it’s an investment and you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg every year. I like that you can have more control where you have your own identity and don’t need to be under the mercy of wordpress or whatever. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!